Sunday, July 6, 2008

What do you get when you die bombing a bus full of innocent Jewish men, women, and children?

B"H

A hero's welcome, of course! This is what our "moderate terrorist" friend Abbas is planning when Israel returns the body of Dalal al-Mughrabi, the murderess, the beast who blew up a bus full of Israeli families on their way to the beach on March 11, 1978.

The return of her body, and the bodies of her compatriots, is planned as part of the horrible "prisoner swap" that Olmert has planned in the name of "peace" with the arabs.

Wiser Jewish leaders have, for 30 years, refused to return those remains knowing that the graves of these murderers would become holy places to the arabs, a place for the glorification of murder and terror.

In answer to this horrible idea, I had planned to publish the names of those victims from 1978. Finding no such list, I thought I might be more successful looking for a general list of victims of terror.

I searched the web in vein and found no list. The only list I can find is from 2000 on, (leaving out many many many victims) or the list of Americans killed. How do we remember the evil perpetrated against us when there are no names of our victims?

Sadly, however, I easily found lists of terrorists and their attacks.

It seems a shame that these terrorist acts are remembered by the names of the evil ones who perpetrated them, and not with a remembrance of those who we have lost—innocent victims of these terrorist beasts.

I think it would be wonderful if someone could amass a list of the human toll—the names of the victims of terrorists since the 1929 Hevron Riots.

I know it is a big project, but it would be a testament to the Jewish Ideal of remembering those who we have lost and praying for the day that Hashm shall avenge their blood.

JERUSALEM – As part of a controversial prisoner swap deal with Hezbollah, WND has learned Israel agreed to release the body of an infamous Palestinian terrorist glorified in Palestinian society and in the greater Palestinian terrorist community as one of the most significant heroes.

WND today obtained official communications from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization asking all sections of the PA to prepare at the highest levels for celebrations, festivities and even symbolic funerals marking Israel's release of the body of Dalal al-Mughrabi.

In March 1978, Mugharbi, a female terrorist, led and planned an attack in which herself and ten other Palestinians infiltrated Israel by sea, landed on a beach, killed an American photographer and then hijacked a crowded bus.

Israeli forces pursued the bus, sparking a long shooting battle in which the terrorists fired from bus windows at nearby passenger cars, killing several Israelis. Eventually, the terrorists blew up the bus in a suicide operation, killing themselves and a total of 36 civilians.

Israel kept the remains of Mughrabi and the other terrorists in part so that Palestinian society would not make shrines of their burial places.

Mughrabi has long been glorified as one of the most important "martyrs" in Palestinian society. Official PA institutions, such as girls schools and police training camps, bear her namesake. Songs and poems in her honor are routinely broadcast on PA television and radio.

During the Palestinian intifada – or terrorist war – started in September 2000, Fatah's declared military wing, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, named a cell after Mughrabi. That cell, which is still active, perpetuated numerous shootings and suicide bombings.

An official PA pamphlet obtained by WND asks Fatah leaders in the Gaza Strip and West Bank to prepare victory celebrations for the day Mughrabi's body is released by Israel.

"We call upon all regional Fatah leaders to make the necessary activities, demonstrations, festivals and symbolic funerals in a very significant way to glorify this big hero. We call upon Fatah sections to form special committees with the mission of coordinating these preparations," read the pamphlet.

The communication went on to call for Israeli Arabs to also celebrate the release of Mughrabi's body.

The pamphlet was sent from the PA's "ideological and organic" department, which is led by Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmad Qurei, who has been overseeing Israeli-Palestinian peace talks initiated at last November's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit.

According to PA sources, preparations are underway for Mughrabi to be buried in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, which is home to the Church of the Nativity, the believed birthplace of Jesus.

In a controversial deal, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government last weekend agreed to a prisoner swap with the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group under which Israeli army reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev – kidnapped by Hezbollah in a 2006 raid – will be released in exchangee for Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar and four captured Lebanese guerrillas.

Hezbollah's border raid and abduction of Regev and Goldwasser sparked Israel's 2006 war against the terrorist group in Lebanon. Last weekend, Olmert told the Knesset that Israeli intelligence agencies strongly believe the two soldiers were killed during the Hezbollah raid.

Kuntar is currently serving four life sentences in an Israeli prison for murdering four Israelis in a 1979 terror attack in northern Israel.

As part of the exchange, Israel will provide Hezbollah with information regarding four missing Iranian diplomats and also release an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners, and apparently, Mughrabi's body.

The deal was opposed by all of Israel's major intelligence agencies, including the Mossad and the Shin Bet Security Services.

Security officials argued the exchange will encourage further kidnapping and also endanger Israelis kidnapped in the future, since terrorists will learn Israel will pay a high price for dead soldiers. The deal is also expected to raise the price Hamas will demand for the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

The security officials also opposed the deal because they said it empowers Hezbollah and the group's Iranian and Syrian backers. As well, security officials argued, the deal allows Hezbollah to expand its scope of influence, since Kuntar is a member of a Palestinian terrorist group and since Israel agreed to release Palestinian prisoners as part of the exchange.

Hezbollah has already painted the exchange as a "victory," while the Lebanese government said today the deal marked a "big failure" for Israel.

"This deal ... is a new and clear condemnation for Israel, its tactics and its policies," said a Lebanese government statement last week.

Israel is known for going to extreme measures to secure the return of soldiers or their remains. The Israeli government argues such exchanges are necessary to demonstrate to soldiers they will not be left behind.

Prisoner swap 'major victory for resistance'

Israel's prisoner swap deal with Hezbollah is a "major achievement" and "victory for the resistance in its confrontation with the Zionist authority," a senior Palestinian terrorist told WND in an interview last week.

Muhammad Abdel-Al, a leader and spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees terrorist organization, which is one of three groups holding kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, said he learned from the Israel-Hezbollah deal the Jewish state is willing to pay a "very high price" for kidnapped soldiers.

"We will demand more for Shalit ... of course we see the value of abducting Zionist soldiers. Our resistance will do everything possible to kidnap more," Abdel-Al said.

"The deal gives us hope and confidence that our prisoners – those who have a big number of years and life sentences – will soon released," the terrorist added.

1 comment:

On July 12, 2006 Lebanese Hezbollah militants crossed the border with Israel in an operation dubbed "Operation Truthful Promise," which was aimed at nabbing Israeli soldiers in exchange for Lebanese prisoners. Hezbollah succeeded in the operation and successfully took hostage two Israeli soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. During the operation, eight Israeli soldiers were killed. This ignited the sequence of events which led to the Israel/Lebanon summer war. The story goes further back than July of 2006. It really began in April 1979! On Sabbath day, April 22, 1979, Danny and Smadar Haran met up with a monster named Samir Kuntar. Danny and Smadar were a loving Israeli couple. They had everything they could ever hope for... love, marriage and two precious daughters, Einat, 4 and Yael, 2. That day Smadar was home anticipating Danny's return from work and preparing for the Sabbath. She had just picked up their two toddlers from day care. Danny, on the other hand, was looking forward to nothing more than getting home and spending time with his wife and his two young daughters. Traditionally, the Sabbath is the most special day of the week, the day the family gets to spend time together and celebrate their bond to Judaism. It was especially important for Danny who, as a young father, had to work extra hard in order to provide for his wife and young children. Little did Smadar know that this would be the last Sabbath she would celebrate with her family because of a man named Samir Kuntar. Around midnight the nightmare began!

What's the deal with Samir Kuntar? Since April 22, 1979 Samir Kuntar has been incarcerated in an Israeli prison. Samir Kuntar, a Druze from the Lebanese mountain village of Aabey , who currently holds the dubious distinction of being the longest held Lebanese prisoner in Israeli jails. Kuntar is currently ONE of THREE Lebanese prisoners still serving time in Israeli jails. Kuntar was convicted and sentenced to a 542 years prison sentence by the state of Israel . Israel even almost tried to pass a bill to have him executed! What did he do? What was his crime? The crime Kuntar committed was one of the most sickest, heinous, barbaric crime ever committed on Israeli soil. The crime took place on April 22, 1979 when Kuntar led a group of 3 other terrorists, all members of Abu Abbas PLF (Palestinian Liberation Front), infiltrated the Israeli coastal city of Naharya and broke into the Haran family apartment and took Danny Haran and his 4 year old daughter Einat Haran hostage. When Kuntar and his gang broke into the apartment, the wife, Smadar Haran and her 2 year old daughter Yael, were also present in the apartment. Smadar managed to find a crawl space into which she, her younger daughter, 2 year old Yael, and a neighbor all hid. To prevent Yael from crying and giving away their hiding place, Smadar covered the child's mouth with her hand.

Kuntar and his group took Danny and little Einat down to the beach. At the beach Kuntar shot Danny in the back. Danny survived the gun shot but moments later was drowned personally by Kuntar. All this was witnessed by the young daughter. Kuntar forced her to watch her father's murder so that [in Kuntar's words] "his death would be the last sight she would ever see." Kuntar then laid the little toddler down on a rock and smashed her head with the butt of his rifle. She didn’t die right away, so Kuntar beat her with his rifle repeatedly, over and over again (all this done, while she was screaming and crying), to ensure that she was dead. Meanwhile in the apartment, Smadar's attempt to muffle her daughter's whimpering proved fatal. Yael was accidentally suffocated and died within the hiding space. And on July 12, 2006, the ONLY reason why Ehud Goldawasser and Eldad Regev were kidnapped by Hezbollah, was to force Israel to release/surrender Samir Kuntar. Now the dilemma is, should Israel release Samir Kuntar in order to gain the release of Goldwasser and Regev? Unfortunately Kuntar might be freed in the next couple of days in exchange for these two soldiers, or their caskets, since there hasn’t been even one sign of life since their kidnapping on July 12th. For those who didn’t know, Samir Kuntar was the only reason that’s been holding back the release of Goldwasser and Regev, for almost a year and a half.

According to Smadar Haran, her last memories of Danny and Einat, that day, were when they were being led away at gun point by Kuntar. She could hear from her closet space Danny telling Einat, "Don't be scared, my baby, it will be alright" and Einat replied to him in her little voice, "Dad, where is Mommy? I want Mommy." Smadar's last memory of her 2-year-old daughter, Yael, was when her little daughter was taken to the apartment hiding space. Right before Yael had her mouth covered by her mother, she asked her mother "Where is my little pacifier." There was no time to search for the pacifier. Minutes later Smadar covered Yael's mouth to keep her from revealing the hiding space. Smadar soon felt her daughter's tiny tongue licks and lip sucking on the palm of her hand. She didn't know what to make of it at first but hours later was told by doctors and paramedics that the reason Yael was licking her palm while she covered her mouth was because she was gasping for air.

After drowning Danny in the sea in front of little Einat, Kuntar, the brave Lebanese freedom fighter, then turned his attention towards the frightened little 4-year old. He took his rifle and then swung it across the little toddler's head, knocking her to the ground. As little Einat was knocked to the ground, she was screaming and crying hysterically "mommy daddy help me," while thrashing her little legs around in the sand. But unfortunately Einat was alone, and no one was there to save her. Kuntar then dragged the little toddler a couple of feet to the closest rock he could find, this was while she was begging him not to hurt her. Kuntar, then laid her head down on a rock, with the intention of crushing it with the butt of his rifle. Einat, instinctively covered her head with her little arms, Kuntar struggled with the little toddler until he finally managed to clear her arms out of the way so that he could aim for her head. Once her arms were out of the way, Kuntar proceeded on beating her on the head over and over with the butt of his rifle, and repeatedly stomping on her little body as hard as he could as well, until blood rushed out of her ears and mouth, and her little cries faded away as she was knocked into unconsciousness. Then, to ensure she was dead, Kuntar continued on beating her over the head, as hard as he could, several more times until her skull was crushed and she was dead.

The nerve of Hezbollah to honor a child killer like Kuntar. The nerve of Hezbollah to kidnap two Israeli soldiers in order to force Israel to release a child murderer from jail! This is what Hezbollah is all about. The July 12, 2006 abduction was originally named "Operation Freedom Samir Kuntar," by Hezbollah. But days before the kidnapping Hezbollah changed the name of the operation to "Operation Truthful Promise," due to the fact that Nasrallah made a true promise to the family of Samir Kuntar to have him freed from jail. In September 2000, three Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by Hizbollah, along with an Israeli businessman, Elhanan Tennenbaum. Nasrallah immediately demanded Israel release all its Lebanese prisoners INCLUDING Samir Kuntar. In 2004 Israel was holding a TOTAL of 26 Lebanese prisoners. That same year, 23 out of those 26 prisoners were released, in order to secure the release of those 3 IDF (Israeli Defense Force) soldiers as well and Elhanan Tennenbaum. This prisoner exchange also had a second phase, which involved Hezbollah providing solid evidence on the fate of Ron Arad (the Israeli pilot who went missing in Lebanon in 1986) and in exchange, Israel would release the 24th Lebanese prisoner, Samir Kuntar! Hezbollah failed to deliver the information on Arad, and the deal was off. In 2006, when Goldwasser and Regev were kidnapped Israel was out of bargain chips, its only choice in order to gain information on the fate of these two soldiers is the release Samir Kuntar. Who even knows if Goldwasser and Regev are alive! Let’s not forget, the four years prior to the "infamous Israel-Hezbollah prisoner exchange of 2004," Israel had no idea on the fate of their soldiers until the day of the exchange. Only on the day of the exchange Israel found out, they would receive 3 caskets instead of 3 soldiers.

It is beyond sickening, a man who beat to death a little toddler is celebrated for his glorious deed. Kuntar has been dubbed by some parts of the Arab world as the "Dean of World Prisoners." Who would imagine? Hezbollah crossing the border into Israel, killing four Israeli soldiers and kidnapping 2 more, going through all this trouble, JUST to free a child killer!

There is another point worth mentioning. Hezbollah has never claimed that Kuntar was innocent or that he may have been framed. They only demand his release as if he were being held unlawfully and that Israel had no right to imprison him. Kuntar is probably the most hated person by the Israeli public. He is known as the "killer of Nahrya" instead of "terrorist of Nahrya." And to think that this person is being released under the context of threat, extortion, and blackmail! If it wasn’t for kidnapping of soldiers, Kuntar would have continued to serve out his sentence.

Israel has an extensive history of releasing prisoner with blood on their hands, it has been done in the past and most expect that, it would happen again. This time with Kuntar. It is important to keep in mind that prisoners who are in Israeli jails are serving time for something. Israel is not a "gangster" or "lawless" state that imprisons people based solely on a whim. Every prisoner was charged, stood trail, convicted and properly sentenced. They were not kidnapped simply because they were Arabs. Hence, there is no justification in comparing the kidnapped Israeli soldiers to Samir Kuntar. There is a fine line between a humanitarian release of prisoners or releasing prisoners for the sake of peace AND knuckling under to unadulterated extortion. There is also a huge difference between someone with hatred in his head and he who has blood on his hands! Nobody expects that someone like Kuntar who is released will become Lovers of Israel! But someone and others like Kuntar who have committed murder or collaborated in the planning of that murder should be considered an unacceptable risk. It goes beyond forgiving terrorism. It becomes an abetting in any future terrorism carried out by those released. Israel will viewed as a weak state that can be brought to its knees by extortion. If Israel was to release Kuntar it would be the biggest thing they ever surrendered! The Sinai Peninsula, Israel gave back under negotiations, the West Bank and Gaza Israel also gave back under negotiations of the Oslo Accords. In 1985 during the famous "Ahmed Jibril Exchange" Israel released 1200 prisoners for the release of 3 IDF soldiers, some of those prisoners who were released had blood on their hands including Kozo Okamoto who killed 22 Israelis. BUT even all those 1200 prisoners put together, cannot compare to the savage murderous act committed by Samir Kuntar. Israel also currently holds 10,000 Palestinian prisoners, some of which have been incarcerated for conspiring, carrying out, and masterminding murderous terrorist attacks (suicide bombings, shootings, etc…), which targeted Jewish civilians in Israel. BUT even all those 10,000 prisoners put together cannot compare to Kuntar.

Kuntar could have shot little Einat or blown her up, but instead he took his loaded gun and just bludgeoned her on the head repeatedly for several minutes until she was dead! Lets not also forget, the fact, that several minutes prior to murdering Einat, Kuntar drowned her father in front of her, and forced her to watch.

Anyone, who reads this article and does not shed a tear, is not a human being. What kind of country is this to release a child murderer from jail under the context of threat and extortion? If we release Kuntar, we know what message it sends to Hezbollah and other terror groups like Hamas, etc… But what obscene messages does it send to the families of those Israeli murdered, especially Smadar Haran whose daughter was beaten to death by a man who hates Jews. What Kuntar did was not only a terrorist act but should also be considered a criminal act. And what demoralizing message does it send to the Israeli troops and security services who risked their lives in order to capture and arrest the terrorists? There is no doubt that Goldwasser and Regev need to be unconditionally released from Lebanon, Syria, Iran or from wherever they are now being held. Olmert's "good will gesture" has disaster written all over it. Appeasement didn't work with Hitler and it will not work with Hezbollah. "Negotiations" will not work either for over what exactly is there to negotiate? How far will Israel go to assure its own disappearance? There will be nothing positive coming out of the release of Kuntar. There is no worst context of releasing prisoners than under the context of threat. But today October 15, 2007 there is chatter within Israel to drop the demand for Ron Arad for the exchange of Kuntar.